Quick overview  

  • Client: A major financial services company 
  • Technology used: Microsoft Power BI, Wavicle EZConvertBI 
  • Goal: Migrate from Tableau to Power BI and avoid license renewal.
  • Challenge: The Tableau environment contained thousands of dashboards, many of which were duplicates or low-value reports. Migration needed to be completed within four months, before the Tableau license expired.
  • Results: Wavicle completed a seamless Tableau-to-Power BI migration, rationalized reporting assets, and decommissioned licenses.   

Challenges

At first, this looked like a standard dashboard migration for the retirement insurance division of this financial company. In reality, it was a bigger effort to simplify the BI setup and cut costs. 

The division needed to switch from Tableau to a scalable reporting platform, without disrupting users or keeping years of extra reports. 

The core challenges include:

  • Hard renewal deadline: There were only four months to finish migration, validation, and deployment before the license had to be renewed. 
  • Reporting sprawl: Nearly 19,000 dashboards, with many duplicates or unused, had to be sorted out before migration could start. 
  • Budget-constrained scope: Only 186 dashboards could be migrated in Phase 1, so careful prioritization was needed. 
  • Enterprise-scale adoption: About 1,100 users needed a smooth transition with minimal disruption. 

Solution

Wavicle approached the initiative as a structured transformation program rather than a simple lift-and-shift migration.

1. Bringing structure to chaos

Wavicle used the EZConvertBI Analyzer and custom SQL queries on the Tableau metadata to review almost 19,000 dashboards.

Key actions included:

  • Deduplicating redundant dashboards
  • Identifying cross-dashboard similarity and overlapping logic
  • Flagging assets unused for over three years

The results were clear right away:

  • Nearly 19,000 dashboards were cut down to about 1,900 useful ones. Of these, 186 high-impact dashboards were chosen for phase 1.

Wavicle focused on migrating valuable dashboards rather than just moving everything over.

2. Structured migration to Power BI

Once the scope was set, Wavicle carried out a structured migration to Microsoft Power BI using EZConvertBI and a hybrid approach:

  • Automated conversion where feasible
  • Manual refinement to ensure functional accuracy and visual fidelity

Wavicle ensured the familiar Tableau look and feel remained. Filters, layouts, and navigation were copied to make the change easier for users.

The main idea was to change the platform, not the user experience.

3. User acceptance testing (UAT) and deployment

Dashboards were validated with business stakeholders through structured UAT to ensure the following:

  • Functional accuracy
  • Visual consistency
  • Performance stability

Since the dashboards looked like Tableau, the switch felt familiar. The migration went smoothly, with no major issues after launch.

Result

Wavicle successfully completed a high-stakes Tableau-to-Power BI migration with EZConvertBI on a tight deadline. What started as a way to avoid costs turned into a long-term modernization effort.

Migration before renewal deadline

  • 186 dashboards migrated before the renewal deadline
  • Nearly 1,100 Tableau licenses decommissioned
  • No reporting disruption

The main goal of avoiding renewal and keeping things running was fully met.

Rationalized reporting portfolio

  • About 19,000 dashboards were reduced to approximately 1,900 rationalized assets.
  • Only high-impact dashboards were migrated.
  • Redundant and inactive dashboards were removed.

The new setup is focused, easy to manage, and matches real business needs.

High adoption with no disruption

  • Nearly 1,100 users transitioned
  • No formal training required
  • No post-deployment complaints reported

The migration felt like a natural step forward, not a disruption.

 

Dimension Before After
Total dashboards Nearly 19,000 186 migrated (from nearly 1,900 rationalized)
License footprint Nearly 1,100 Tableau users Tableau licenses decommissioned
Reporting estate Duplicates and low utilization Consolidated, high-value portfolio
Platform Tableau Microsoft Power BI
Deadline Risk High Delivered before renewal
Adoption Potential disruption Smooth, immediate adoption

Next Steps  

Following the successful adoption of Power BI within the Retirement Insurance Division, the organization is exploring expanding it to additional business units. 

Wavicle may help with future projects as the company works toward a single, company-wide analytics system.

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